This invention relates generally to garments and more particularly to garments, such as brassieres and swimsuits, having inflatable supports for enhancing the natural shape of a wearer""s breasts and also to the supports themselves.
Breast augmentation or shaping devices for use in garments such as brassieres and swimsuits have been used for years to enhance the natural shape and supplement the apparent size of the wearer""s breasts. Conventional breast augmentation devices typically include a pair of breast pads, usually made of foam rubber, which are inserted or sewn into the breast cups of a garment. Other breast enhancing devices attempt to simulate the consistency and feel of real breast tissue such as by utilizing breast pads made of gel-filled pliable pouches.
Existing breast pads, however, are often undesirable in that they typically come in a size which is standard for the garment. Thus, the breast pads may provide too much enhancement for the taste of some wearers and not enough enhancement for the taste of others. Further, breast pads are bulky and difficult to conceal so that their use is somewhat limited in two-piece swimsuits, which do not always provide significant coverage.
To overcome these disadvantages, inflatable bladders have been used in lieu of conventional pads. The bladders are fluidly connected to a pressurized fluid source, such as an on-board air pump, which is operable to inflate the bladders as desired to suit the particular taste of the wearer. One example of such a device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,764,759. While inflatable bladders are effective in enlarging the appearance of the breasts of a wearer, they are not known to provide uplifting support to the wearer""s breasts. As a result, they are not as effective in creating a pronounced cleavage for wearer. Existing bladders may also be undesirable because they protrude outwardly and stretch the outer layer of the garment surrounding the breasts, thereby increasing the possibility of creating unnatural and unsightly lumps.
Therefore, a need for a new and improved inflatable breast supports, garments with such supports, and related methods for enhancing the apparent size and shape of a wearer""s breasts.
A garment cup is described for supporting a breast of an individual who wears the cup. Typically, two such cups are provided for garments and may be built into a garment such as a brassiere or swimsuit.
In one form, the cup comprises a pocket having first inner and second outer wall portions which together define the pocket. When worn, typically at least a majority of the first inner wall portion is positioned nearer to the breast to be supported than the second outer wall portion. The first inner wall portion comprises at least one section of a greater flexibility than the flexibility of the second outer wall portion. This section of greater flexibility may be substantially co-extensive with the entire first inner wall portion which bounds the pocket. The pocket is expandable when supplied by fluid with the section of the first inner wall of greater flexibility distending to a greater extent than the second outer wall portion to provide support to the breast of the individual. That is, the pocket tends to expand rearwardly toward the breast rather than outwardly where unnatural or unsightly bulges could result. A fluid supplier or pressurized fluid delivery mechanism, which in one form may comprise an air pump, is operable to supply fluid to expand the pocket.
In accordance with one embodiment, an inflatable bladder may be disposed within the pocket and may be fluidly coupled to the fluid supplier. The bladder expands when supplied with fluid to thereby expand the pocket. The pocket may include a slot through which the bladder is accessible for removal from the pocket, such as during cleaning of the garment and/or for repair purposes. The pocket may be positioned to extend only along a lower portion of the cup such that when inflated a rearward and upward force is exerted against the supported breast.
The fluid supplier may be a source of liquid, a valve through which air is blown, for example by the wearer of the garment, or any other fluid supply mechanism. In one desirable form, the fluid supplier comprises at least one air pump fluidly coupled to respective bladders located in pockets at the right and left side of the garment with air supply lines being flexible tubes extending along the underside of the cups. The air lines may extend only along the underside of one or both cups and may be positioned in sleeves or passageways positioned at such locations.
The first inner wall may be comprised of at least one fabric layer comprised of a first material and the second outer wall may be comprised of at least one fabric layer comprised of a second material. These materials may be varied. In addition, the inner wall is desirably less stiff than the outer wall. In the event a garment is provided with two such cups, the respective outer walls may, but not necessarily are, of the same stiffness while the respective inner walls are less stiff. The inner walls are desirably of the same stiffness, but this is not necessary. For example, one breast of an individual may require greater support than the other breast. One way to accomplish this is to provide inner walls of differing flexibilities or stiffness. At least one relief valve, which may be incorporated into the pump, is desirably provided for selectively deflating the bladders included in the garment to thereby adjust the amount of support that is provided. The left and right bladders included in the garment may be selectively and independently inflatable and deflatable to adjust their respective sizes. For example, separate valves may be provided for controlling the amount of air or fluid retained in each of the bladders. However, more desirably is the provision of only a single air pump for the system with the pump being centrally located, such as between the breasts of the user when the garment is worn. Air supply lines may be positioned to communicate from the pump to the respective bladders at bladder fluid supply locations. The bladder fluid supply locations may be spaced from the pump and desirably are located at the respective sides of the bladders furthest away from the pump. The supply lines may extend from the pump and underneath the breasts to the bladder supply locations and thus provide added support along the undersurface of the wearer""s breasts. By positioning the pump at this intermediate location, the pump does not produce unwanted bulges in the garment when the structure of this embodiment is incorporated into the garment.
The pump structure itself and location of fluid supply lines is also believed to be unique apart from designing the structure to direct expansion of an inflatable portion thereof primarily inwardly toward the breast of the wearer as opposed to outwardly. Although not required, the bladder itself may be formed of material which directs expansion of the bladder toward the supported breast with or without any pocket structure.
In a method in accordance with one aspect of an embodiment, an inflatable bladder is positioned in a garment so as to apply a rearward and upward force against the supported breast of the garment wearer when the bladder is inflated. In addition, the freedom of the bladder to expand in a forward direction is restricted relative to the freedom of the bladder to expand in a rearward direction against the wearer""s breasts. Consequently, when the bladder is inflated, the possibility of unsightly bulges being formed at the front of the garment is minimized. In addition, in accordance with this method, the bladder may be positioned along a lower portion of a supported breast such that inflating the bladder urges the breast upwardly to thereby augment its shape.
The present invention is directed toward new and unobvious features of a garment cup and of garments including breast supporting mechanisms alone as well as in combination with one another, as well as toward novel and unobvious aspects of breast supporting methods as described herein.